By Emily Brindley, The Dallas Morning News DALLAS — The ongoing Texas measles outbreak has rapidly grown to the largest the state has seen in decades, spreading through mostly unvaccinated residents and creeping across both county and state lines. On Friday morning, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported there are now 90 confirmed cases across seven counties in Texas. That’s not counting the nine cases reported by New Mexico health officials as of Thursday evening.
The outbreak has pushed Texas into record-setting territory. Less than two months into the year, the state has already reported more measles cases in 2025 than seen in any full year since 1992, according to historic data from the state health department. And the case count is likely to continue growing, according to infectious disease experts and health care providers in the region.
“It’s probably the tip of a bigger iceberg,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a professor and the director of the Vaccine Education Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. While the ongoing outbreak has garnered public attention and triggered some amount of fear and anxiety among residents, local medical providers say the cases have not strained the health care system.
Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, said her hospital has admitted around a dozen children who have measles. Some have needed higher level care, but none have been critically .
